Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools guidance document was developed in response to House Bill 145 and Senate Bill 161, enacted by the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, which directed the Virginia Department of Education to develop and make available to each school board model policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools. These guidelines address common issues regarding transgender students in accordance with evidence-based best practices and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to: compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws; maintenance of a safe and supportive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students; prevention of and response to bullying and harassment; maintenance of student records; identification of students; protection of student privacy and the confidentiality of sensitive information; enforcement of sex-based dress codes; and student participation in sex-specific school activities, events, and use of school facilities.
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1/5/21  2:42 pm
Commenter: MG

REMOVE reference to "WISHES of a STUDENT" this is PUBLIC SCHOOL
 

“A school administrator may need to direct school staff to abide by the wishes of a student on their asserted name and pronoun. A school employee’s intentional and persistent refusal to respect a student’s asserted name and pronoun is considered discriminatory.” (Recommended Standard, p.12)

 

Remove this recommended policy.  Legal terminology and policy do not use "wishes"  Public School Staff and Faculty can not cater to student "wishes". This policy is open for interpretation and mis leading.  Nick names are used everyday and they need to be professional in nature.  THIS ambiguous policy and do not apply to ALL students therefore remove and re-write to avoid discriminatory policy 

CommentID: 88361